It is no surprise to anyone that Welsh folklore features many rich and exciting narratives, but many folklorists will recognise the frustration of trying to recover stories that have been lost between changing languages and technological shifts. Wales has no equivalent of duchas.ie, the Irish folklore archive, and so it is the responsibility of individual folklorists to keep these stories alive.

Two such folklorists are Delyth Badder and Mark Norman, who offer a fascinating insight into Welsh encounters with spirits in their latest publication The Folklore Of Wales: Ghosts. From vengeful spirits with unfinished business to shape-shifting spectral sheep, the book offers insight into the vast and complex network of supernatural experiences reported in Wales over the centuries, spotting trends and patterns and offering insight into how the nation’s ghosts compare to those in other countries.

Part academic text, part sourcebook, the text is a must-read for folklorists seeking to understand more about the Welsh folk tradition. It is also an entertaining, charmingly written read, with many amusing tales and ominous accounts – perfect light reading on the increasingly chilly autumn nights. A compact, well-researched, well-written book, Ghosts is one I would be picking up for Halloween.